"This is a wonderful honor. I am very grateful to my students and colleagues for helping me push the boundaries to improve cybersecurity," said Brumley, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at CMU.

Brumley's research focuses on the techniques, principles and algorithms for finding flaws in software that hackers use to break into systems. "My goal is to make computer software and systems safe," Brumley said. "Attackers only need to find a single flaw to break into a system. Defenders have the much harder job of plugging all holes."

"We applaud David for his cutting-edge contributions to computer malware and his dedication to teaching. His novel teaching approach and inspirational leadership continue to help our students become world-class problem-solvers," said Ed Schlesinger, the David Edward Schramm professor and ECE department head.

Brumley, who also is working on techniques to fight next-generation malware, is the faculty adviser for CMU's award-winning "Capture the Flag" team. Capture the Flag is a computer security game in which each participating team or individual competes to find a key source of information by solving challenging problems.

Brumley earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics in 1998 from the University of Northern Colorado, a master's degree in computer science in 2003 from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in computer science from CMU in 2008.